Gollum Posted January 14, 2023 Share Posted January 14, 2023 (edited) Last 7-8 years or so the depth of the field in hockey has improved so much. So many good teams, when I first started watching the sport it was mainly 2-3 European teams and Australia. And the rest couldn't hope to touch them. All that has changed in recent times, just like we also saw in the T20 WC and FIFA WC.... Sure Aus and Bel are a class apart but I can see 10-11 teams all capable of beating each other if we have a round robin like tournament. While we all are happy that Ind has been mostly a top 4-5 side (even clear 3rd best in between) in recent years but we can just as easily slip to 10th spot. Gap between #2 and #3 is probably bigger than the gap between #3 and a team like say Spain or one of the Asian ones->Japan/Malaysia/Korea. And Aus/Bel will start declining while the golden generations of Netherlands, France, Argentina make their way up....expect lots of churning in the near future. Edited January 14, 2023 by Gollum Khota, Frustrated, speedracer and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedracer Posted January 14, 2023 Share Posted January 14, 2023 52 minutes ago, Gollum said: Dutch too can surprise, for me the 3rd best team, a distant 3rd sure but never count them out in these big tournaments. Greatest hockey nation for a reason. Behind these 3 are Germany and India. Don't see any other side winning this trophy. Argentina maybe couple of years away from realistically fighting for podium place.... Though I must admit I haven't followed hockey (or any other sport tbh) for last 1-1.5 years. Apart from India I will be rooting for Japan, big fan of Tanaka. Pak missing out is a dampener, but they only have themselves to blame for this mess. Most successful WC nation not even qualifying, irrespective of my feelings about that country, this is sad to see. How are the Dutch greater than pak though? Pak would be the greatest hockey playing nation no? I have seen a couple of matches where Indian really trouble belgium. Drew and even beat them not too long ago. Seems like India can beat Belgium but a huge mental block vs Oz? which is a shame. Also Germans and even pommies have become good recently. Well Germans have been good for a while but poms have upped their game. We do pretty well vs Germans don't we? Yes ref's are always against us. Even for me as a newbie I noticed that. In the Olympics it was almost blatant. We deserved to be in the final iirc. We are the poorest nation per capita competing so it's a pretty darn good achievement. Especially when you factor in rigged ref's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AuxiliA Posted January 14, 2023 Share Posted January 14, 2023 7 hours ago, Khota said: Indians are just not as strong and fast as Dutch, Aussies or Germans. That is the sad truth. Indian athletes don't lack in strength but endurance. India does fairly well in wrestling and weight lifting. They just need better physical conditioning. Was watching a India vs Cameron Basketball game ( both ranked around 50) . India was totally dominating after first 2 quarters with a score like 55-25. But as the game progressed they ran out gas and ended up losing the game! Frustrated 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gollum Posted January 14, 2023 Share Posted January 14, 2023 (edited) 14 minutes ago, speedracer said: How are the Dutch greater than pak though? Pak would be the greatest hockey playing nation no? Not just results, Dutch influenced playing style, tactics, 3D skills, training methods etc. to the sport in the 90s, laid the foundation of modern hockey. Every team has learnt from them, wants to play like them. Their coaches are in high demand everywhere, why? Even if talking about results they are not bad, are they? And too damn consistent, Pak has been in free fall for a couple of decades now. Pak of 70s/80s is a GOAT contender, almost there IMO but 90s Netherlands was even greater. If you also include women, no contest really, Dutch women's hockey team is the GOAT women's sports team, forget hockey, I am talking about all sports. Ind is the GOAT men's team of grass era, Dutch GOAT in modern hockey. Pak too has a great legacy. 14 minutes ago, speedracer said: I have seen a couple of matches where Indian really trouble belgium. Drew and even beat them not too long ago. Seems like India can beat Belgium but a huge mental block vs Oz? which is a shame. Belgium almost always plays 2nd and 3rd string sides in friendlies and lesser tournaments. Olympics/WC Bel is a different beast. Edited January 14, 2023 by Gollum AuxiliA 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedracer Posted January 14, 2023 Share Posted January 14, 2023 2 minutes ago, Gollum said: Not just results, Dutch influenced playing style, tactics, 3D skills, training methods etc. to the sport in the 90s, laid the foundation of modern hockey. Every team has learnt from them, wants to play like them. Their coaches are in high demand everywhere, why? Even if talking about results they are not bad, are they? And too damn consistent, Pak has been in free fall for a couple of decades now. Pak of 70s/80s is a GOAT contender, almost there IMO but 90s Netherlands was even greater. If you also include women, no contest really, Dutch women's hockey team is the GOAT women's sports team, forget hockey, I am talking about all sports. Ind is the GOAT men's team of grass era, Dutch GOAT in modern hockey. Pak too has a great legacy. Belgium almost always plays 2nd and 3rd string sides in friendlies and lesser tournaments. Olympics/WC Bel is a different beast. Even then in WC it was close in the last wc va Belgium?? Iirc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gollum Posted January 14, 2023 Share Posted January 14, 2023 Belgians also hide their preparation in friendlies, by that I mean tactics, way of taking PCs, personnel assigned to each position etc. That is why when it comes to Oly/WC other teams find them so tough to deal with. This was pointed out by Colin Batch during Tokyo Olympics, in the run up to the main event Bel was getting smashed by every other team, even India whitewashed them in Belgium in a test series and all wins by big margins. They are still the team to beat, even for #1 Australia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AuxiliA Posted January 14, 2023 Share Posted January 14, 2023 Odisha and Naveen Patnaik have done a terrific job of supporting Indian Hockey over the years. Frustrated 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gollum Posted January 14, 2023 Share Posted January 14, 2023 (edited) The stadium in Rourkela looks magnificent. That too in a tier II or III city, hats off to Odisha, respect to CM Naveen Patnaik !!!! Why can't other states, most of them far richer, do something similar? Read that tickets for 20 games have been sold out, will be great to see packed stadiums in non-India games. Salute the passion of the people there for this sport. Have always heard great things about Kalinga Sports Complex by visiting teams, they all praise its world class infrastructure. Edited January 14, 2023 by Gollum AuxiliA, rollingstoned and Frustrated 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gollum Posted January 14, 2023 Share Posted January 14, 2023 Vickydev, AuxiliA, Suhaan and 4 others 1 3 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vickydev Posted January 14, 2023 Share Posted January 14, 2023 Looks stunning with the lights on Frustrated 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedracer Posted January 14, 2023 Share Posted January 14, 2023 26 minutes ago, Gollum said: Belgians also hide their preparation in friendlies, by that I mean tactics, way of taking PCs, personnel assigned to each position etc. That is why when it comes to Oly/WC other teams find them so tough to deal with. This was pointed out by Colin Batch during Tokyo Olympics, in the run up to the main event Bel was getting smashed by every other team, even India whitewashed them in Belgium in a test series and all wins by big margins. They are still the team to beat, even for #1 Australia. Very intelligent of them. Why can't stupid india do that in cricket? Hide all the main players in bikaterals. Field young ins. Oh wait. Money. Frustrated and AuxiliA 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedracer Posted January 14, 2023 Share Posted January 14, 2023 9 minutes ago, Gollum said: Magnificent. Outstanding. Wish I could be there. Gollum and Frustrated 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suhaan Posted January 14, 2023 Share Posted January 14, 2023 2 minutes ago, speedracer said: Very intelligent of them. Why can't stupid india do that in cricket? Hide all the main players in bikaterals. Field young ins. Oh wait. Money. Dadu seniors will be highly rusty,sumo sharma ,you really think he can straight get into a wc game? raki05, speedracer, Gollum and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedracer Posted January 14, 2023 Share Posted January 14, 2023 1 hour ago, Suhaan said: Dadu seniors will be highly rusty,sumo sharma ,you really think he can straight get into a wc game? Rohit belongs in saravan bhavan. I don't consider him in the main 11. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordPrabhzy Posted January 14, 2023 Author Share Posted January 14, 2023 1 hour ago, Gollum said: The stadium in Rourkela looks magnificent. That too in a tier II or III city, hats off to Odisha, respect to CM Naveen Patnaik !!!! Why can't other states, most of them far richer, do something similar? Read that tickets for 20 games have been sold out, will be great to see packed stadiums in non-India games. Salute the passion of the people there for this sport. Have always heard great things about Kalinga Sports Complex by visiting teams, they all praise its world class infrastructure. I have always wondered why Punjab the powerhouse of hockey not produce international standard Hockey infrastructure and stadiums.. I guess when you’re priorities are funding separatist elements then hockey doesn’t fit the agenda. raki05 and Frustrated 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khota Posted January 14, 2023 Share Posted January 14, 2023 10 hours ago, speedracer said: There are many Indians who are. We don't have access to proper diet and nutrition. I call bs on that. We beat those guys in wrestling and even boxing etc many times. I have seen way too many big strong Indian guys around to know the truth. Being athletic is different but that can be worked on for most people. I live in Australia. We can definitely be as strong if not stronger than them. Problem we have is speed. That's due to lack of access to proper training and nutrition Average Indian is poor. And that is the underline problem. Plus Indians have a culture where sports are frowned upon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khota Posted January 14, 2023 Share Posted January 14, 2023 18 hours ago, Frustrated said: I m currently residing in Bhubaneswar. There is lot of enthusiasm on hockey here in odisha. Animated hockey banners can be seen all over the city. Tickets for upcoming matches are almost sold out as far as I could see. Same level of interest may not be there in other states though. And your CM has done an excellent job promoting it. Frustrated 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khota Posted January 14, 2023 Share Posted January 14, 2023 1 hour ago, LordPrabhzy said: I have always wondered why Punjab the powerhouse of hockey not produce international standard Hockey infrastructure and stadiums.. I guess when you’re priorities are funding separatist elements then hockey doesn’t fit the agenda. You started a good thread but cannot keep your politics away from sports. Punjab is a poor state and is broke too. There is no support for separatism in Punjab. Back to Hockey and hoping for India to do well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khota Posted January 14, 2023 Share Posted January 14, 2023 2 hours ago, speedracer said: Very intelligent of them. Why can't stupid india do that in cricket? Hide all the main players in bikaterals. Field young ins. Oh wait. Money. Indian cricket is not run professionally. When you have overweight Sharma and brain-dead Dravid at top, it is hard to win. speedracer 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khota Posted January 14, 2023 Share Posted January 14, 2023 6 hours ago, Number said: We have beaten Dutch quite a few times recently. Even Belgium is not far ahead of us. In Olympics SF they only just edged us because of poor refereeing. For rest of the European teams and Argentina we are easily better. Only Australia is way ahead. They always thrash us by big margins. Strangely Europeans and Argentina give Aussies tough time but somehow we always look outpaced against them. Speed. They push the ball through gaps much faster and get their quicker. Need a zone defense against faster teams but still need speed in the back field. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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